Into the Wild

SEAN Penn's fourth feature Into the Wild is a moving adaptation of Jon Krakauer's acclaimed best-seller that cements the Oscar-winning actor's reputation as a keen observer of the human condition at its most fragile.

SEAN Penn's fourth feature Into the Wild is a moving adaptation of Jon Krakauer's acclaimed best-seller that cements the Oscar-winning actor's reputation as a keen observer of the human condition at its most fragile.

Into the Wild is an extraordinary true story set during the early '90s, which illuminates one man's two-year quest for a sense of belonging in an untamed, unforgiving world.

It's a film of great beauty and of devastating self-realisation, that the follies of youth have dire consequences.

Cinematographer Eric Gautier captures the ever-changing landscapes in their breathtaking beauty, contrasting the rich browns and golds of the desert with the icy blues and whites of Alaska.

Rising star Emile Hirsch comes magnificently of age in the central role of 22-year-old Christopher McCandless, the college graduate who rejected the trappings of privilege to embark on a momentous journey of self-discovery.

Split into five chapters entitled "My Own Birth", "Adolescence", "Manhood", "Family" and "Getting Of Wisdom", Penn's film is narrated by Chris's younger sister Carine (Malone).

"It was inevitable that Chris would break away and he would do it with characteristic immoderation," she confides shortly after her brother graduates, seemingly with the world at his feet.

His wealthy parents Walt (Hurt) and Billie (Harden) are excited at the prospect of their son going to university, even promising to buy him a new car.

Yet Chris yearns for something more.

He gives his life savings to charity, burns his cash and cuts up his credit cards.

Then with a few belongings including a notebook to chart his grand adventure, Chris walks away from his cosy existence and hits the road, venturing from the wheat fields of South Dakota to the rapids of the Colorado River, a refuge in Slab City, California, and eventually the wintry wastes of the north.